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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. squash — to crush
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fine — high quality
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. last — to go on
  11. spring — the season
  12. fine — all right
  13. spring — a coil
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. last — finally
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. season — of the year
  19. last — final
  20. spring — of water
  21. dip — to sink
  22. sharp — clever
  23. season — in sport
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com